Pancreatic Cancer

Worldwide, there are an estimated 232, 000 new cases of pancreatic cancer annually. In the United States, it is the fourth leading cause of cancer death, and approximately 30,000 people die of pancreatic cancer each year. The disease is difficult to diagnose in its early stages, and most patients have incurable disease by the time they present with symptoms. The overall 5-year survival rate for this disease is less than 5%. In organizing this handbook, Dr. Neoptolemos and his co-editors will produce a distinguished Major Reference Work devoted to pancreatic cancer. This handbook will have widespread appeal among clinicians, pathologists and basic scientists who are now struggling to understand this complex and rapidly expanding field. Because of the recent and vast growth in both the clinical and scientific research being done in pancreatic cancer (there is currently an unprecedented investment by academia and industry in this field), each researcher's knowledge of other specialty areas outside his or her own is now often quite limited. The aim of this book is to place these the tangible advances-those that are indispensable to all working on pancreatic cancer-readily at hand. The book will focus on advances that will not become dated, and the editors will choose authors who are the very best in each area. The only Major Reference Work entirely devoted to pancreatic cancer The contributing authors are the very best in their respective fields Soon to be the reference of choice among clinicians, pathologists, and basic scientists who now struggle to keep abreast of this complex and rapidly growing field   Table of contents Section One: The Nature of Pancreatic Cancer     Epidemiology: world overview, risk factors, prospects for prevention   Development and structure of pancreas   Pathologic classification and biological behaviour of pancreatic neoplasia   Developmental molecular biology of the pancreas   Molecular pathology of precursor lesions of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN), intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), and mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN)   Epigenetics: its fundamentals and applications to a revised comprehensive progression model for pancreatic cancer   Molecular pathology of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours MEN-1: gastrinomas, insulinoma, Non-Functioning Tumours, VIPoma, glucagonoma, Von Hippel-Lindau, Neurofibromatosis   Sporadic neuroendocrine pancreatic tumours   Molecular pathology of non-pancreatic cancer lesions: Ampullary cancer, intra-pancreatic bile duct cancer, and duodenal cancer   Miscellaneous non-pancreatic non-endocrine tumours   Novel molecular relationships between chronic pancreatitis and cancer   Pancreatic cancer stem cells   Cell cycle control: signalling pathways in pancreatic pathogenesis   Apoptosis: signalling pathways in pancreatic pathogenesis   EGFR: signalling pathways in pancreatic pathogenesis Pl3, Akt, lKK, Ras, Raf, MAPKK, ERK   Hedgehog: signalling pathways in pancreatic pathogenesis   Smad4/TGF-ß pathway: signalling pathways in pancreatic pathogenesis   Notch signalling in pancreatic morphogenesis and pancreatic cancer   Molecular characterization of pancreatic cell lines   Mouse models of exocrine pancreatic cancer   Principles and applications of microarray gene expression in pancreatic cancer   Principles and applications of proteomics in pancreatic cancer   Tumour-stromal interaction: invasion and metastases   Genetic susceptibility, high risk groups, chronic and hereditary pancreatitis, familial pancreatic cancer syndromes   Inherited endocrine pancreatic tumors associated with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1 Von-Hippel-Lindau Syndrome, and Neurofibromatosis Type 1   Section Two: Clinical Management of Pancreatic Cancer   Clinical decision making in pancreatic cancer   Paraneoplastic syndromes   Diagnostic and therapeutic response markers   CT and fusion PET-CT Diagnosis, staging, and follow-up   MRI and MRCP: diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer   EUS Diagnosis and staging   Laparoscopy and laparoscopic ultrasound: diagnosis and staging   Overview of palliative management for pancreatic cancer   Endoscopy.   Interventional radiology   Role of palliative surgery in advanced pancreatic cancer   Chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer   Developments in chemoradiation in advanced pancreatic cancer   Surgical resection for pancreatic cancer   Role of venous resection in pancreatic cancer surgery   Pathological reporting and staging following resection   Japanese Pancreas Society staging for pancreatic cancer   Adjuvant chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer   Case for adjuvant chemoradiation therapy for pancreatic cancer   Case for neoadjuvant treatment in pancreatic cancer   Borderline resectable disease   Management of cystic neoplasms serous cystic neoplasms mucinous, cystic neoplasms, intraductal paillary mucinous neoplasms   Laparoscopic surgery for pancreatic neoplasm   Modern Japanese approach to pancreas cancer   Section Three: New Directions   Development of novel biomarkers   Inherited genetics of pancreatic cancer and secondary screening   Gene therapy for pancreatic cancer   Vaccine therapy and immunotherapy   Emerging targets in pancreatic cancer